The United States, with important strategic and economic interests in Central America, has usually opted for a military solution. Since Fidel Castro's victory in Cuba in January 1959 the United States had been concerned that any change of government in a Central American country should not usher in a similar Soviet-backed communist regime; and to prevent this it has developed a range of responses, from direct military intervention, through support of local armies, to diplomatic isolation and economic blockade. Part of this strategy has been the training of tens of thousands of Latin-American soldiers in anti-guerrilla warfare techniques at the 'School of the Americas', functioning in the Panama Canal Zone since 1946. Influenced by the 'Vietnam syndrome', the United States has adopted a strategy to deal with the low-intensity conflicts in the region. In accordance with the 'domino theory', it works to prevent the installation of revolutionary regimes which might trigger off a chain-reaction in neighbouring countries. For the foreseeable future Central America and the Caribbean will remain a powder keg. Carlos Caballero Jurado and Nigel Thomas examine the Central American Wars from 1959-89 accompanied by illustrations by Simon McCouaig.